Syracuse, NY – A server fired from the Prime Steak House is accused of pulling the restaurant’s fire alarm Wednesday sending fire retardant chemicals through the kitchen and ruining $1,000 worth of food.

“I’ve been in business 30 years and I’ve never had this happen,” restaurant owner Dan Klamm said this morning.

The incident happened as the restaurant at 101 E. Water St. in Hanover Square was getting ready for the Wednesday evening dinner crowd. The bar was full of customers and the staff was getting ready for a photo shoot for a story that will appear in the CNY Business Exchange magazine, he said.

At about 5:30 p.m., the restaurant manager fired server in training Scott J. Eddy, 36, of 5930 Griffin Drive, Cicero, when he arrived for his shift.

According to the Syracuse police report Eddy threw his server’s jacket at the manager. As they began to walk towards the kitchen to the employee entrance, Eddy passed the fire alarm. He pulled it sending fire retardant chemicals through the sprinkler system in the kitchen.

The chemicals sprayed on food being prepared for customers and for an event the next day. It also sprayed into the eyes of another employee.

“It was crazy. We were getting ready to have our pictures taken and everybody went running out the door after the guy,” Klamm said.

Syracuse firefighters responding to the alarm cleaned up the chemicals and gave first aid to the employee who had gotten sprayed in the eyes.

As a result of the chemical spraying,the kitchen had to be cleaned and a health department inspector had to come to the restaurant to make sure the clean up was done properly and food discarded.

The restaurant was closed for dinner Wednesday and for lunch the next day to clean up, Klamm said.

The manager told police the restaurant had to throw out food valued at between $700 and $1,000.

The restaurant threw out: three hamburgers, four chicken sandwiches, two chicken Caesar salads, three filet steaks, four beef kabobs, three cowboy steaks, four orders of scallops, two lobster tails, two lamb chops, three veal chops, two orders of calamari, two orders of shrimp scampi, cheese, an order of lobster macaroni and cheese, one salmon steak, an order of Bang Bang shrimp, and various soups and sauces.

Police arrested Eddy at the address he placed on his restaurant employment application.